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Wii U or won't you?

Another unique gaming option has hit the market in time for the upcoming gift-giving season, and it’s called Wii U.The Wii U produced by Nintendo is a spin-off of the original gaming system, with a twist.The Basic Wii U bundle includes a Wii U hardware device (in ordinary terms, a gaming console), a 6.2” touch-screen hand held game pad, sensor bar, power adaptors and an HDMI cable and is available in white.The Deluxe bundle is a sleek, black 32GB console that comes with all the items contained in the basic kit plus a charging cradle, stand and Nintendo Land game.The gamepad weighs just under a pound and comes equipped with speakers, microphone, camera, control sticks and has the ability to control TVs and cable boxes as well.The beauty of the gamepad is that it provides users with mobility (use of the gamepad on its own) or through the TV, although I’d find it difficult to focus with two images being present, I’m sure many won’t.Out of the gate Nintendo are offering approximately 49 games, ranging in content from Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Sing Party to fitness favourites such as Wii Fit and Your Shape designed for the new devices. Many of you will be glad to know the Wii U is backwards compatible and works with older games and controllers including the Wii Fit and controllers.It’s clear that Nintendo is trying to provide a comprehensive, collaborative user experience, and have affiliations with content providers such as Hulu and Netflix that can be accessed through these devices. The console and gamepad come equipped with 802.11 B/G/N wireless technologies that allow users to game remotely alongside their friends.One noted shortcoming of the device is the short battery life and long charging time. It takes approximately two hours to charge the hand-held units and it seems they are only yielding a three to three and half hour game time. While 3.5 hours may be an acceptable period of time for many, it can be a huge disadvantage to dedicated gamers.The development of the device has been in the works for some time now and after extensive testing and modification, the end result will hopefully be worth the wait.For those of you that decide to take the leap and purchase one, we’d be interested in getting your feedback on these new devices.We’d love to know what topics you’d be interested in learning more about, so e-mail us at TechBuzz@btc.bm